Scientific ClassificationKingdom: Animalia Phylum: Echinodermata Class: Asteroidea Order: Forcipulatida Family: Asteriidae Genus: Pycnopodia Species: P. helianthoides
Physical Description -Largest and fastest of the sea stars
-Moves with its 15,000 suction cups
-Most start their life with five arms and can grow up to twenty-four arms
-Unlike other sea stars, it has skeleton of disconnected pieces
-Allows sea star’s mouth to open wide and its body to enlarge and take in big prey
-Can swallow an entire sea urchin, digest it internally, and then expel the urchin’s intestine
-Does not posses a brain or a heart
-The organs at the tip of each ray allows these organisms to smell and sense between light and dark
-Colors vary: reddish-orange to yellow, violet brown, purplish or slatey purple
Distribution/Habitat -Often inhabit areas of approximately 120 m in depth, and do not travel further than 435 m in depth
-Lives in temperate regions
-Found on various substrates such as mud, sand, gravel, boulders, and rock
Life Cycle/Reproduction-Live 3-5 years and breed between March and July
-Exhibit external fertilization and polygyny
Ecological Role-Feeds on organisms such as sea urchins, sand dollars, bivalves, sea cucumbers, mussels, crabs, barnacles, clams, gastropods, and rarely algae, and sponges, and occasionally dead fish
-Its prey uses various ways to escape:
-Snails violently twist their shells to loosen the star’s powerful grip
-California sea cucumbers slither out of the way.
-Purples sea urchins nibble on the sea star’s feet.
-If predators attack the sunflower sea star, it can expel its arm, sending a chemical that causes an alarm response to other sunflower sea stars in the area
Physical Description
-Largest and fastest of the sea stars
-Moves with its 15,000 suction cups
-Most start their life with five arms and can grow up to twenty-four arms
-Unlike other sea stars, it has skeleton of disconnected pieces
-Allows sea star’s mouth to open wide and its body to enlarge and take in big prey
-Can swallow an entire sea urchin, digest it internally, and then expel the urchin’s intestine
-Does not posses a brain or a heart
-The organs at the tip of each ray allows these organisms to smell and sense between light and dark
-Colors vary: reddish-orange to yellow, violet brown, purplish or slatey purple
Distribution/Habitat
-Often inhabit areas of approximately 120 m in depth, and do not travel further than 435 m in depth
-Lives in temperate regions
-Found on various substrates such as mud, sand, gravel, boulders, and rock
Life Cycle/Reproduction -Live 3-5 years and breed between March and July
-Exhibit external fertilization and polygyny
Ecological Role
-Its prey uses various ways to escape:
-Snails violently twist their shells to loosen the star’s powerful grip
-California sea cucumbers slither out of the way.
-Purples sea urchins nibble on the sea star’s feet.
-If predators attack the sunflower sea star, it can expel its arm, sending a chemical that causes an alarm response to other sunflower sea stars in the area
Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_starfish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaMoS_vvNE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Sunflower_starfish
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/12/cf/fa/sunflower-sea-star.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3395/3199407440_99fdbcb490.jpg
http://www.billabbie.com/calath/images/starfish_sunflower_patiria_helianthoides_robertpotts_0059.jpg